01 March 2023 , 08:28
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Vanessa Bryant has reached a $28.85million agreement with Los Angeles County over the leaked photos from the 2020 helicopter crash which took the lives of her husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna and seven other victims.
The settlement also includes the $15million which a jury awarded Vanessa, 40, back in August.
In a statement, Vanessa’s lawyer Luis Li said: “Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct. She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice.
Vanessa Bryant has reached a $28.85 million agreement with Los Angeles County over the leaked photos from the 2020 helicopter crash which took the lives of her husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna and seven other victims (AFP via Getty Images)
The settlement also includes the $15 million which a jury awarded Vanessa, 40, back in August (SplashNews.com)Following the devastating incident in Calabasas, California, which killed her professional basketball player husband, who was 41 when he died, and their 13-year-old daughter - who was a budding basketball player - Vanessa sued the L.A. County for taking pictures of the crash site and sharing them.
The complaint read: “The gratuitous images soon became talked about within the department, as deputies displayed them to colleagues in settings that had nothing to do with investigating the accident.
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“One deputy even used his photos of the victims to try to impress a woman at a bar, bragging about how he had been at the crash site.”
The 41-year-old professional basketball player and their 13-year-old daughter - who was a budding basketball player - tragically died in the incident (Getty Images)The lawsuit claimed that the “outrageous actions” by the Sheriff’s Department “caused Mrs. Bryant severe and emotional distress” in the wake of the disaster.
Chris Chester, who was identified as a co-plaintiff, also lost his wife and daughter in the crash.
The crash also claimed the lives of Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, John Altobelli, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Two other families separately made an agreement with the county over the photos for $1.25 million each. All of the victims’ families also reached a settlement with the helicopter company over the crash, but the terms in which they decided remain confidential.